Patent applications, nonresidents

Patent applications are worldwide patent applications filed through the Patent Cooperation Treaty procedure or with a national patent office for exclusive rights for an invention--a product or process that provides a new way of doing something or offers a new technical solution to a problem. A patent provides protection for the invention to the owner of the patent for a limited period, generally 20 years.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), World Intellectual Property Indicators and www.wipo.int/econ_stat. The International Bureau of WIPO assumes no responsibility with respect to the transformation of these data.